A protest will be held in Dunedin next week to call on the Southern District Health Board to pull out of its 15-year contract with the Compass Group for food services after a problem-plagued start to the controversial outsourcing.
Announced today by a grouping of three Parliamentary political parties, unions, and other groups, it will be held on Friday next week at noon outside Dunedin Hospital.
The newly-formed Real Meals Coalition comprises the Labour Party, Green Party, New Zealand First, Grey Power Southland, Unions Otago, and Unions Southland.
Coalition spokeswoman Anna Huffstutler said the multinational should lose the contract because the meals were not adequate.
"Making food in-house was great for our community. It meant that fresh food was coming from local suppliers. It kept local people employed doing jobs that they love, making food and looking after the community.''
Details of the protest event were still being finalised, such as potential site management issues, Ms Huffstutler said.
Compass has been under fire since it took over the board's food services, but the company cites a patient survey showing 75% are happy with the meals and says its suppliers include local firms.
The outsourcing has had a rocky start however with problems in the meals on wheels service, patient meals, and staff cafes.
The meals on wheels service now has 109 recipients, compared with 210 recipients when Compass introduced its meals on wheels model in January.
Many recipients quit citing poor quality.
Complaints over patient meals prompted the company to introduce "patient experience co-ordinators'' this month to manage complaints and feedback.
A lack of custom in staff cafes prompted Compass to make a food and beverage manager redundant, on top of seven redundancies in the Dunedin Hospital kitchen late last year. Resident Medical Officers, who work 16 hours a day or more and receive free staff meals, have expressed concern through their union.
An internal memo leaked to the Otago Daily Times revealed the food, including meals containing raw sausage, had become a "staff safety issue'' in mental health wards. The health board says the concerns have been addressed since that memo was written a month ago.
Dunedin South MP Clare Curran says she expects a large turnout to the protest as the concerns were widely felt.
She had been contacted by people who did not usually attend protests.
Ms Curran rejected a suggestion the formation of the coalition was a political stunt, and says rescinding the contract is a realistic aim.
The 15-year outsourcing deal was approved last year by the health board. Last week chief executive Carole Heatly conceded there was an "issue'' with the food, but said Compass was making improvements.
The meals on wheels main course is solely provided by LSG Sky Chefs, while patient meals are a mix of frozen, chilled, pre-packaged and fresh food sourced directly by Compass.
- The ODT is seeking comment from Compass, Southern DHB, and Health Minister Dr Coleman. See tomorrow's ODT for more
The story so far
2008 - Upgrade worth nearly $1 million equips Dunedin Hospital as regional food hub
2012-13 - Another $350,000 spent on Dunedin Hospital food management and menu system.
2013 - Government entity Health Benefits Ltd conceives plan for national outsourcing with Compass Group, but settles on less ambitious scheme.
2013-14 - Scheme plagued by delays and kitchen workers and unions demand more information.
Early 2015 - Southern DHB discloses some meals will be trucked frozen from Auckland, sparking opposition from the public.
2015 - The board votes to outsource food service
October 2015 - Compass takes over the Dunedin Hospital kitchen and restructures staffing to focus on reassembling and reheating.
Early 2016 - Implementation of the Compass food model starts, and hits problems attracting nationwide interest. Nationally, six health boards have joined the contract at various stages of implementation.
